Semester 1 Unit 5 – Notes 1: Political Movements in America 1860-1920
Why did a variety of political movements occur at the turn of the century? Did these movements change America?
As America grew and changed over the course of the 1800’s, a ______________ grew between the rich and the
poor. There were a handful of very wealthy men that controlled the fates of millions of impoverished workers.
This __________________________ and others of the time caused people to join together and fight for a
better life. Three major movements came out of this desire for more: Populism, Labor Unions, and
Progressivism.
Farmers and Populism
In the late 1800’s farmers, especially those that had moved West to find new land ran into a cycle of
______________________ problems. They were borrowing on future crops to buy new tools and machinery,
but as crop prices fell the farmers went further into ___________________. The farmers also ran into problems
with the _______________________ – they were charging exorbitant prices to ship grain and other farm goods.
As farmers grew more frustrated with their conditions, they began to _____________________ to fight their
poor conditions. The first of these movements was known as the ____________________. Although the Grange
was originally an educational association, by 1870 they were setting up farmers’ cooperatives to fight the
railroads. The __________________________________________ also helped farmers organize to fight their
poor conditions. As more and more farmers began to fight, they began to organize on a
________________________ level.
___________________________, or the movement of the people, became the Populist Party in 1892 – this
group was supported by both the Grange and the Farmers’ Alliances.. Their original demands were to lift the
debt from farmers and to give people a greater ______________________ in the government. In order to get
these demands, the Populists had the following ___________________________:
Increase in the ___________________ supply
Graduated income tax
Federal ______________ program
Election of US senators by popular _________________
Single terms for President
Secret ________________________ to end voter fraud
8-hour workday
Restrictions on __________________________
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Which of these do we have today?
Semester 1 Unit 5 – Notes 1: Political Movements in America 1860-1920
Why did a variety of political movements occur at the turn of the century? Did these movements change America?
As farmers worked to alleviate their debts, many in the Populist movement began to favor
____________________________ – a monetary system in which the government would back paper money
with both gold and silver. Others in the business sector preferred the __________________________ – where
paper money would just be backed with only gold. Introducing silver to the market would have put more money
into circulation. This would have lead to __________________________ which means that prices rise. Farmers
would get more money for their goods and everyone would have more money – this is not as
_______________________ a system as the gold standard though.
____________________________________________ supported bimetallism and was nominated by both the
Democrats and Populists on the presidential ticket in 1896. Bryan lost to William McKinley by half a million
votes. This __________________________ Populism’s forward momentum, but many of their reform ideas
moved into the 20th century as people realized that they could organize and make a significant
______________________________ impact.
Labor Unions
During the rise of ___________________________________ in America, workers were forced to work long
hours under unsafe conditions for low wages. Under these terrible conditions, some workers began to unite and
fight together for better working conditions such as ______________________ days and higher wages.
Groups of workers that united to fight for better conditions were called ___________________________. In
1866, the National Labor Union (NLU) was the first large scale union to form in America. Their goal was to
link existing small, local unions to each other to give workers ____________________ in numbers. The NLU
refused to allow __________________________________________ to join their ranks – so the Colored
National Labor Union was formed by African American workers. In 1869 the ___________________________
formed another large union whose motto was “An injury to one is the concern of all.” At its height in 1886 the
Knights of Labor had about 700,000 members. As they grew stronger, labor unions began to
_______________________ themselves.
Craft Unions
The earliest unions in this country were small craft unions. In 1886, Samuel Gompers led one of these, the Cigar
Makers International Union to join with other craft unions; they became the ____________________________
_________________________________ (AFL). The AFL used _______________________ as a major tactic
and negotiated reduced work hours and higher wages for skilled workers.
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Semester 1 Unit 5 – Notes 1: Political Movements in America 1860-1920
Why did a variety of political movements occur at the turn of the century? Did these movements change America?
Industrial Unions
Some workers wanted unions to represent _____________________________ in an industry, including
unskilled workers. Eugene Debs believed in this idea and formed the American Railway Union (ARU) to
represent all workers on the ______________________________. Its membership quickly outpaced that of the
four skilled railroad unions combined as it climbed to ____________________ members in just two months.
Socialism
In reaction to the harsh treatment of workers, some turned to the idea of _______________________ which
supported government control of business and an equal _______________________ of wealth. Eugene Debs
and others joined together to create the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW); this union was also known as
“_________________________________.” The IWW accepted workers of all ________________________,
but their numbers never topped 100,000.
Strikes and Violence
Unions used strikes, or _____________________________________, as a resource to get their demands. As
unions grew, they gained more power to get their demands met through strikes. Strikes and unions grew larger
and employers grew more ___________________________ with organized labor. Employers soon found ways
to reduce the ___________________ of the labor unions.
The Haymarket Affair
In 1886, a striker was ____________________________ by police as workers were protesting unfair labor
conditions at the McCormick Harvester plant. The next day, __________________ people protested the police
brutality at Chicago’s Haymarket Square. Most of the crowd departed by 10 pm as rain began to fall and the
police arrived. A __________________ was tossed into the police line and the police fired into the crowd –
seven police officers and several workers died. No one knew who threw the bomb, but the three speakers at the
protest and five other labor leaders were charged. All were ____________________________, four were
hanged and one committed suicide.
The Pullman Company Strike
In 1893, the Pullman Company laid off over half of its employees and then cut the wages of the remaining
workers by 25%-50%. Many had very little money left after paying ________________ for the company’s
apartments. A strike was called in the spring of 1894. Pullman refused to ________________________ in
arbitration, so the American Railway Union began boycotting Pullman trains. Pullman hired
_____________________________, the strike turned violent, and President Cleveland sent in federal
______________. Eugene Debs, head of the ARU was jailed in the aftermath and many of the strikers were
fired. Pullman was one of the strikes that ushered in an era of government _________________________ to
break up strikes.
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Semester 1 Unit 5 – Notes 1: Political Movements in America 1860-1920
Why did a variety of political movements occur at the turn of the century? Did these movements change America?
What effect did the Haymarket Affair have on Unions?
What effect did the Pullman Strike have on Unions?
Women Organize
Many major labor unions _______________________ women from joining. Even with this, women worked
with labor leaders to demand better working conditions, equal _______________ for equal work, and
________________________ labor laws.
Mary Harris Jones, known as _______________________________ was a prominent woman in labor
organizing. She organized for the United Mine workers of America and was jailed with the coal miners. In
1903, she led 80 children that worked in __________________, many of which had terrible
______________________, to the home of President Theodore Roosevelt. This action helped influence the
passage of child labor laws.
After the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, women’s organizing grew stronger and was ________________________ by
the public. As women fought for better working conditions, they also began to organize for the
____________________________. The right to vote is also called ___________________, therefore this
movement was called the _________________________ Suffrage Movement.
The birthplace of the American Women’s Suffrage Movement is said to be the ___________________ Falls
Convention held July 19-20, 1848. At this convention, leaders such as Frances Wright, Ernestine Rose,
Elizabeth Cady __________________, and Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis were joined by others such as
Lucretia ______ and Margaret Fuller. They began the movement for Women’s Suffrage before the Civil War
and finally formed the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. The goal of this organization was to
obtain a Constitutional ___________________ guaranteeing women’s suffrage.
This group merged with another suffrage group in 1890 to be called the National American Woman Suffrage
Association. NAWSA was led by Mrs. Carrie Chapman __________ and Anna Howard ____________ in New
York City from 1900-1919. At this time, states were allowed to grant suffrage to women and
___________________________ was the first to give women the right to vote as a state in 1890. The Woman’s
Suffrage Movement took many forms, but finally accomplished its goal by getting the
___________________________ ratified by the states on August 18, 1920
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